Two teachers from a prestigious Catholic boys school are found guilty of failing to report the suspected 'rape of a student by his classmates on a rugby trip to Japan'

  • Ian Francis Hailes and Anthony Paul Webb both given suspended sentences
  • Both men were found guilty of failing to report suspected child sexual abuse
  • Followed an ill-fated rugby trip with the catholic boys school to Japan in 2017

By Andrew Prentice For Daily Mail Australia

Published: | Updated:

Two former teachers from a prestigious Catholic boys school have been found guilty of not reporting the suspected rape of a student by his classmates.

Ian Francis Hailes and Anthony Paul Webb - who were both sacked following a school rugby trip with Perth's Trinity College to Japan in 2017 - were fined $1,200 and handed suspended sentences in the Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday.  

They are believed to be the first people convicted for failing to report suspected child sexual abuse under mandatory reporting laws in Western Australia.

Both teachers were informed that one of the students was allegedly sexually assaulted by some of his teammates at a hotel on the outskirts of Tokyo in April of 2017.

Failing to act on the alleged matter resulted in Wednesday's suspended sentence. 

Two teachers from Perth's Trinity College (pictured above) were sacked after not reporting the suspected rape of a student by his classmates on an overseas rugby tour

Two teachers from Perth's Trinity College (pictured above) were sacked after not reporting the suspected rape of a student by his classmates on an overseas rugby tour

The assault of the Trinity College student was in April of 2017 in Japan when part of a school rugby tour

The assault of the Trinity College student was in April of 2017 in Japan when part of a school rugby tour

The victim, who alleges he was held face-down and assaulted anally with a carrot, was tormented by his alleged rapists and teammates on social media following the incident.

Days after the alleged attack, a mocked-up cover of a music magazine featuring a band called 'The Carrots' with a new single called 'Uranus' was widely distributed online as well as a cartoon of a carrot with the young man's face which was labelled 'Carrot Man'.

The multiple teenagers accused of the alleged sexual assault avoided criminal charges due to the difficulties of prosecuting alleged crimes committed in Japan by juveniles from another country.

The court heard the rugby tour, which flew over 28 students ranging from Year 10 to 12, stayed in a seaside hotel where students slept on the floor of dorms on tatami style mats.

This created some problems with plenty of 'hijinks', 'tomfoolery' and 'mucking around', the ABC reported. 

At one designated meal time, the victim approached Mr Hailes, the school's Head of Rugby, to allege he had been sexually assaulted - but the ex teacher did not act on the complaint. He later said he 'misheard' what the victim alleged.

Mr Hailes was adamant he only became aware of the alleged sexual assault when informed by the school's acting principal Peter Norman in September, 2017. 

In evidence via video-link, the victim, known only as AB, said at the start of the trial in late March it was 'definitely' an aggressive assault.

He alleged a group of about 10 boys burst into his room and allegedly twice assaulted him as he lay on his tatami mat chatting to a fellow student. 

Another student said he kept silent about numerous instances of bullying he witnessed first-hand as he believed it was part of 'rugby culture' at the school.

Former teachers Ian Francis Hailes and Anthony Paul Webb were found guilty of not reporting the suspected rape of a student in the Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday (stock image)

Former teachers Ian Francis Hailes and Anthony Paul Webb were found guilty of not reporting the suspected rape of a student in the Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday (stock image)

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